YES, THERE IS A NATIONAL ONION ASSOCIATION

Tweet I love onions. Raw. Cooked. Roasted. Yellow. Red. White. Sweet.  I'm a fan of the onion. I savor very thinly sliced white onions tossed in a kale salad their delicious flavor mixed with an apple cider vinegar and olive oil dressing is marvelous to me.

Some say onions were grown first in Ancient Egypt then eventually made their way to Rome and were given the Latin word UNIO which means, single, or one. Onions are hardy and can withstand temperatures as low as 20 degrees F.  Our bulb friends are high in Vitamin C, B6, B1 and Folic acid. Onions are also rich in the trace mineral chromium which helps cells respond to insulin. 

How to pick the best onion? Choose onions that are have a good round shape with dry crisp skin. Don't choose onions that have dark patches, a sign of decay. Stay clear of onions that are sprouting and have signs of mold. Basically, make sure the onion looks clean! Then, store your onions in a cool, dry, well ventilated place for up to two weeks. 

And yes, onions have been known to make you cry. Try chilling the onion for 30 minutes before cutting. When you chop an onion the enzymes in a bulb onion called alliiinases break down to amino acid sulfoxide which generates sulfenic acid which then is acted upon by another enzyme LFS which gives another called syn-propanethial-S-oxide, a volatile gas known as the onion lachrymatory factor or LF.  This gas soon reaches the eyes creating that stinging feeling then our tear glands make tears to flush out the 'onion gas.'    

My fav. I cut up a yellow onion into big chunks. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top. Lightly sprinkle with sea salt. Roast at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.This is a side dish for me.

There are different types of onions bred these days, like pearl, boiler or pickler onions. Of course we all know bulb onions which are white, yellow and red and young plants before bulbing occurs is a scallion.  And yes, there is a National Onion Association!